Medicinal and nutritional uses of mulberry fruit

The Common or Black Mulberry is not one of our native trees, but with several other members of its genus - which contains a dozen or more species - can be grown without protection in the south of Britain. There they are small bushy-headed trees, with large alternate, deciduous, toothed and often variously lobed leaves. It is by no means unusual for a Mulberry tree to produce leaves of several different shapes, or differing considerably in outline. As a rule, abnormal shaped leaves are produced from stem-shoots or sucker growths, and frequently by very vigorous young branches

Importance of mulberry

v  Nutritional value

v  Therapeutic benefits

v  Herbal products

v  Industrial uses

v  Sericulture

v  Animal feed

Nutritional value

l  Carbohydrate                               7.8 to 9.2%

l  Protein                                          15% to 28%

l  Fatty acids                                    0.4 to0.5%

         (linoleic, stearic, and oleic acids)

l  Malic acid                                     1.1 to1.9%

l  Fiber                                              0.9 to1.4%

l  Calcium                                         1.8 to 2.4%

l  Phosphorus                                    0.14 to 0.24%

l  Potassium                                      1.90 to 2.87%

l  Magnesium                                    0.47 to 0.63%

l  Iron                                      1.9 mg/100g

l  Carotene (as vitamin A)      1.74%

l  Thiamine                             9 mg

l  Nicotinic acid                      0.8 mg

l  Riboflavin                           184 mg

l  Ascorbic acid                      13mg/100g

Pharmaceutical importance

v  Anemia treatment

v  Improve blood circulation

v  Soothing nerves

v  Lower high blood pressure

v  Reduce risk of blood clots and strokes

v  Protect body from degeneration such as

 (Mulberry contains cyanidin 3-glucoside)

ü  Chronic arthritis

ü  Atherosclerosis

ü  Protects body against cardiovascular disease and diabetes

ü  Lowers blood cholesterol level

ü  Hypolipidaemic

ü  Fighting arterial plaques

ü  Anti-inflammatory

ü  Anti-pyretic activities

ü  Anti-hypertension

ü  Prevent throat infections, irritations

ü  Used as febrifuge in

ü  Diarrhoea

ü  Cold

ü  Endemic

ü  Malaria

ü  Amaeoebiosis

ü  Use of mulberries in modern medicine for

ü  Preparation of syrup

ü  Employed to flavors

ü  Color any other medicine

ü  Used to treat

ü  Dizziness

ü  Constipation

ü  Depression

ü  Fever

Herbal Products

Ø  Mulberry herbal tea leaves taste fresh and make a healthy beverage

Ø  This healthy tea is abundant in minerals and free of pesticides, caffeine, sugar, colorings and preservatives

Ø  Mulberry's natural aroma and bitter-sweet flavor creates a delicious beverage that may nourish the body

Mulberry bark

l  In traditional Chinese medicine, mulberry bark has sweet and cold properties, and is associated with the Lung and Spleen meridians.

l  Its main functions are

Ø  To reduce heat from the lungs

Ø  To promote urination

Ø  To reduce edema

l  Mulberry bark is employed to treat a variety of disorders, such as coughing, asthma, excessive phlegm, and dysuria

Industrial Uses

v  Anthocyanins

ü  Edible

ü  Water-soluble pigments

ü  Belong to a class of molecules called flavonoids

ü  May appear red, purple, orange, blue or black, according to pH

ü  Anthocyanins hold potential use for health benefits and as natural food colorants

ü  Anthocyanins are believed to contribute to the antioxidant properties of berries, and they are the reasons berries have their dark colors

ü  As the safety of synthetic pigments is doubted and in the wake of increasing demand for natural food colorants, their significance in the food industry is increasing

ü  Industrial use of mulberry as a source of anthocyanins for functional foods or food colorants

ü  Anthocyanins are able to:

v  Fight cancer

v  Fight aging

v  Fight neurological diseases

v  Fight against bacterial infections

v  Improve eyesight

v  Radiation-protective

v  Vasoprotective,Vasotonic

v  Chemopreventive

v  Hepato-protective properties

ü  Research on 31 cultivar of mulberry yielded a total anthocyanin level, calculated as cyanidin 3-glucoside, ranging from 147.68 to 2725.46 mg/L juice

ü  Mulberry fruit is rich in anthocyanins and can be considered as a potential source for production of a natural red food colorant

ü  The major anthocyanins identified in the fruit extract are cyanidin 3-glucoside and cyanidin 3- rutinoside

ü  Total sugars, total acids, and vitamins remained intact in the residual juice after removal of anthocyanins and the residual juice could be fermented in order to produce products such as

v  Juice

v  Wine

v  Sauce

Other industrial products

ü  Jams

ü  Jellies

ü  Juices

ü  Extracts

ü  Pies

ü  Tarts

ü  Cordials

ü  Extruded snack

ü  Vinegar

ü  Squashes

ü  Alcoholic beverages

ü  Mulberry-papaya salad

ü  Fruit ice-cream

ü  Mulberry juice contains 27 volatile compounds, including:

ü  15 alkanes

ü  3 acids

ü  3 alcohols

ü  1 alkene

ü  2 aldehydes

ü  2 benzene derivatives

ü  1 sulfur compound

ü  Mulberry leaves are ecologically important as the sole food source of the domesticated silkworm

ü  Bombyx mori (Latin: "silkworm of the mulberry tree")

ü  Pupa/cocoon of silkworm is used to make silk

ü  Caterpillars feed on leaves of mulberry trees, with the preferred food being the white mulberry

Silk industry

Mulberry leaves, particularly those of the white mulberry, are ecologically important as the sole food source of the silkworm (Bombyx mori, named after the mulberry genus Morus), the pupa/cocoon of which is used to make silk. Other Lepidoptera larvae—which include the common emerald, the lime hawk-moth, and the sycamore moth—also sometimes eat the plant

Mulberry as Animal Feed

v  Mulberry leaves appear excellent forage for feeding and supplementing ruminants due to:

Ø  High percentages of crude protein (15 – 25 %)

Ø  In vitro dry matter digestibility (75 – 85 %)

Ø  Perennial nature

Ø  Adaptation to various soil types

v  In fact, there are several places where mulberry leaves are used traditionally as a feed in mixed forage diets for ruminants i.e.,

v  Cow

v  Buffalo

v  Goat

v  Other domestic animals